The pain of 9/11, the date of the worst attacks to ever take place in the United States, still runs deep through most Americans. This weekend will offer an opportunity to honor those who died as a memorial American flag, known as the Patriot Flag, comes to Virginia during its travels through all 50 states.
The year-long, “United We Stand: We Have Not Forgotten,” journey of the massive 30-foot by 55 1/2-foot flag, set to be completed by September 11, has grown to be a symbol of patriotism and unity while representing those who lost their lives on 9/11.
On Saturday, the Patriot Flag will be flown at the Virginia State Capitol. The day will begin with a 10K “Run For Our Heroes” race with two hundred participants, made up of members of the Virginia National Guard, first responders, law enforcement, corrections officers, and members of the community. They will begin at the University of Richmond and make their way through the streets of Richmond to the State Capitol for a Patriot Flag raising ceremony at 2:00 p.m.
Virginia Secretary of Public Safety Marla Graff Decker will be on hand for the ceremony along with the Virginia Public Safety Foundation and first responders from throughout the Old Dominion. In a released statement, she noted:
“With the recent news of the death of Osama bin Laden, we are again reminded that the global efforts to end terrorism require the hard work and sacrifice of so many of our nation’s heroes, from our military to our local law enforcement and first responders. It is fitting that this flag that commemorates our modern day heroes will be displayed at Virginia’s State Capitol, which was designed by Thomas Jefferson to stand as a monument to freedom and democratic ideals.”
The brain child of American Legion J.B. Clark Post 149, the idea for a national tour of the Patriot Flag was hatched during the funeral for a World War II veteran in California. The flag left San Diego on August 10, 2010, to tour the nation as well as make stops at the sights of the 9/11 terrorist attacks — the Pentagon, World Trade Center, and the field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where American Airlines Flight 93 passengers fought to overtake the terrorist pilots and crashed into the ground.
The Patriot Flag has traveled from the West Coast to the East Coast and everywhere in between as first responders, military members, and veterans have taken part in memorial ceremonies to remember those who perished. It will complete its tour in San Diego on September 11, 2011, the tenth year commemoration of that dark day in American history.
